A need exists for suitable non-chlorine bleaching compositions with better low temperature performance and enhanced oxidizing capability. The usefulness of chlorine compounds such as hypochlorites as bleaching compositions is well known, as are the disadvantages of using such compounds. Chlorine bleaching compositions are useful as color and stain removers in the laundering of clothing, the processing of textiles, the pulping of wood in paper making, and are also useful in general as cleaning compositions. However, chlorine bleaches cause damage to the color of the substrate to which they are applied, as well as the substrate itself, and, in addition, are also less acceptable to the environment.
Peroxygen compounds, such as hydrogen peroxide, alkali metal perborates, percarbonates, perphosphates, persilicates, persulfates, perpyrophosphates, peroxides and mixtures thereof have been developed as alternatives to chlorine bleaching compositions. However, compared to chlorine bleaching compositions, these materials have relatively poor oxidizing capability and perform unsatisfactorily as laundry bleaching compositions in aqueous solutions at temperatures below 140.degree.F. and are unsatisfactory in general in other bleaching and cleaning applications. Typical laundry temperatures in the United States are between 60.degree.-90.degree. F. More efficiently oxidizing non-chlorine peroxygen compositions are required, capable of functioning as laundry bleaching compositions within this water temperature range, and demonstrating improved performance in other bleaching and cleaning applications.
One approach has been to combine the peroxygen compounds with an activator compound that, together with the peroxygen compounds, provide an activated peroxygen composition having greater oxidizing efficiency than the peroxygen compound alone. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,799 to Wilsboro discusses a number of well-known N-acyl and O-acyl peroxygen activator compounds, such as pentaacetyl glucose, tetraacetylglycol uril (TAGU) and tetraacetyl ethylene diamine (TAED). U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,819 to Nakagawa discloses the use as peroxygen activators of acetic acid esters of monosaccharides, disaccharides, sugar alcohols, internal anhydrides of sugar alcohols, or erythritol. Such compounds are also discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,038 to Broze. The acyl and acetic acid groups react with the peroxygen compounds in solution to form peracetic acid, a stronger oxidizer than the peroxygen compounds. Other activator compounds of interest are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,637,339 to Gray and 3,822,114 to Montgomery.
Another compound that has rapidly gained acceptance as a peroxygen activator is sodium nonanoyloxy benzenesulfonate (SNOBS), disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,779 to Hardy.
The above activators suffer from one or more disadvantages, among which include instability when formulated, undue expense, and the inability to function as an activator for all peroxygen compounds. A stable, inexpensive peroxygen activator compound that it capable of activating all peroxygen compounds would be highly desirable.